[2] He was formerly the men's basketball head coach at North Texas and at his alma mater LSU.

Jones was named interim head coach at the University of Memphis just prior to the 1999–2000 season, replacing Tic Price.

Under Jones, North Texas was just the third program to advance to three consecutive Sun Belt Tournament championship games.

Jones' team was invited to participate in the NIT in the 2016 season but the University stepped in and declined the offer.

Conference tournament champion Jones' son, John, is a college basketball player;[7] he played as a walk-on for the Nevada Wolf Pack under his father during the 2017–18 season and transferred to the Texas Southern Tigers when his father was hired as head coach in 2018.